Fancy fun

My typical fashion is pretty much yoga pants and a hoodie.  We don't even have to be best friends for you to know this about me. If you know me, even just a little bit, you are probably well aware of this.  I dress for comfort and also for forgiveness.  Until Nike comes out with fringed and sequined yoga pants, I won't be fringed nor sequined.  Well, I also live in Alaska, so Nike will have to come out with them, then wait five years to get to us, then it has to stop being a top trend before I gain awareness, and at that point I'll catch on and wear them.  I'm pretty sure that everyone at Molli's school assumes either I workout constantly between drop off and pick up (HA), or that I only own oversized tops and pants primarily made of spandex. The stretch factor is important to me.  I don't need my own clothes making fun of me and hurting my feelings.  I'm a delicate flower, not to be burdened or broken down by buttons, zippers and other such atrocities. My love handles are more lovely snuggled up to some stretchy waisted pants and tucked in with a cozy hoodie.  It's my life.

Some moms may read that and nod in solidarity, or raise the roof because they're ahead of me in the game. (It's cool, I don't mind). Other moms might not have a clue what I mean because perhaps their kids are older and they have a life that doesn't equate pajamas with happiness. But let me tell you something.  I'm feeling large and in charge because I went to a fancy schmancy cocktail party tonight.  You guys, do you even know how many times I've ever been invited to something like this?! zero.  Because my friends aren't fancy and neither am I.  An outing with the girls typically involves the grocery store and coffee if we're lucky. (Except for the time girls outing ended up in the four of us getting tattooed, but that's another story). Anyway,  it wasn't just a boring fancy cocktail party, everyone went with the 1920s theme and dressed all up!  I can't get over the fact that everyone seemed to have THE perfect dress for such an occasion.  Like, what the heck, is it normal for a house full of women to be able to pull off the same look when we have like 1.5 stores that sell clothes locally? The fringe, the fishnets, the sequins! Oh my.  It was so good.   And the cocktails were fabulous.

(Belinda, Tamara and I are set to go!)

I'm not going to lie, when I first saw the invite, my initial reaction was "wow, they're going to have such a good time!" I automatically excused myself from going because I don't go to things like that.  But then I realized something.  If I say no, I'll be perfectly content to be home with my family and watching Lost when the kids go to bed.  No complaints! But what if I said yes?  What if I squeezed myself into something that made me a little uncomfortable and stepped out there among other women and pushed aside the discomfort of the social awkwardness and just rolled with it? What then? Would it be worth it?  I RSVPed affirmative and told Myles that I was going to a cocktail party and I need to figure out something 1920s themed to wear.  I'm sure he thought I was a little nuts for a minute because it's so far from anything I typically do.  The homebody in me is pretty persuasive and has probably talked me out of more than one outing in the past.

So, with some help, I pulled together enough accessories to make an outfit work just fine and got to work.  A friend and I knelt by my bed as we haphazardly followed along with an eye makeup tutorial on YouTube. Who knew that eyeshadow requires like 5 colors and 12 different brushes.  Good thing I saved all the clinique makeup samples my mom gave me whenever she bought her perfume.  The eyeshadow didn't matter anyway because I had a fantastic bright red lipstick to detract from my apparent lack of smoky eye skill. Pretty much, between the makeup, hairspray, and accessorizing, I felt like a five year old having a blast playing dress-up and trying out these new things.  I'm not going to say I looked like a superstar, but it was fun to get all done up and look like a very different version of me.

A few friends and I went out there together and we had a great time!  Being among other women was such fun, even if we only knew a handful of people. Now that I'm showered and relaxing before falling asleep, I realize that this little outing was more than a party to me.  It was a tiny bit of liberation from succumbing to the easier assumption that the fun things are for other people.  It was also a reminder of the innate desire to connect with other women.  Every lady in the house was there because there is something in us that craves company. It's the same craving that drives us to invite someone over for coffee, to spontaneously call/text a friend or to show up when it is easier to pass.  I'm sure I won't say yes to everything I get invited to, but to those who do the inviting, THANK YOU! It means a lot to me to be asked to join in on fun things and even if I don't always say yes, I appreciate the gesture, probably more than you know. And to those who are invited to things, consider putting yourself out there and saying yes.

So with that, I am back in my non-sequined, fringeless yoga pants and I'm excited for a (hopefully decent) night of sleep.  Being gussied up and around people is draining for this self proclaimed introvert.

(Outtake)